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Budget 2015: Federal funding guarantee for preschools in Deakin
Families in Deakin will continue to have access to 600 hours of preschool per year (usually delivered as 15 hours per week) following the Abbott Government’s commitment of $840 million to extend the National Partnership Agreement on Universal Access to Early Childhood Education.
Federal Member for Deakin, Michael Sukkar, said the Commonwealth Government will provide state and territory governments with another two years of preschool funding over the 2016 and 2017 calendar years, in addition to the 12 month extension provided last year.
“This announcement gives Deakin families and preschool providers certainty,” Michael said.
“It’s welcome news for children, parents and preschool providers.
“We want families to be able to access early childhood education right across Deakin, whether that is through a government or standalone preschool, or long day care service.”
Michael said that Commonwealth funding under this National Partnership Agreement would, for the first time, be indexed to ensure that Australian families do not lose out in real terms.
“This is a real win for Australian families. Linking funding to CPI will mean an extra $30 million over the 2016 and 2017 calendar years,” Michael said.
“This Government has now provided three years of funding certainty for Australian families and preschool providers. Bill Shorten and Labor short-changed Deakin families when they failed to provide any funding after 2014.”
Michael said today’s announcement was ultimately about supporting Australian families.
“This $840 million in preschool funding highlights this Government’s commitment to support high-quality early childhood education for Australian families,” Michael said.
Michael said he was proud of the Abbott Government’s commitment to early childhood education access in Deakin.
“Since 2008, both preschool enrolments and attendance have increased greatly, but there is still some way to go, particularly in relation to attendance by indigenous, vulnerable and disadvantaged children. This funding will be used to support continuing increases in both enrolment and attendance.”
The Australian Government has now funded in excess of $2.8 billion to the states and territories through a series of National Partnership agreements to raise participation levels and give children more access to preschool education.